Shot



Patented June 7, 1938 SHOT Michael George Corson, New York, N. Y., as signor to Remington Arms Company, Inc., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing.- Application December 24, 1936, Serial No. 117,518

4 Claims.

This invention relates to shot as used primarily in shot shells designed for target shooting and game hunting and in air rifles. The present application is a continuation of my prior co-pend- 5 ing application, Serial No. 72,112,1filed April 1, 1936, as to so much of the subject matter as is common to both applications.

For a great many years shot have been made essentially of lead, the lead being alloyed with quantities of such ingredients as antimony and arsenic sufficient to control the hardness and likewise control the fluidity and surface tension characteristics of the molten metal in such a manner as to enable the manufacture of shot by the usual method. This method comprises the melting of the metal, the pouring of. the molten metal through a suitable screen upon which it is formed into droplets of the desired size, which droplets fall through the air a distance of about 120 feet during which they become solid. At the bottom of the dropping tower the falling shot are,-for the purpose of cushioning impact and retaining sphericity, received in a-tank of water; the shot however are fully formed and; substantially hardened prior to impact with the water. The

enormous numbers of shot manufactured and? used require a manufacturing method of this character, such methods as casting, swaging and rolling being altogether too expensive.

Lead shot are subject to certain disadvantages, one of which is the poisoning of wild fowl due to the consumption by the wild fowl of shot which has accumulated .in feeding grounds where a substantial amount of shooting has occurred over a considerable period of time. In-recent years this factor in the maintenance of supplies of game birds, particularly wild fowl, has become of suflicient importance to receive the attention of the United States Biological Survey, as well as 4 the manufacturers of shot, and certain efforts have beenmade to render lead shot non-poisonous. Another disadvantage of lead shot is that, due to the great density of lead,-the shot are for most purposes undesirably heavy. This is par- 'ticularly true of air rifle shot and shot designed for short range use. With a given load of powder,

a given number ofpellets of a lighter material may be given a. substantially higher initial velocity, and a charge of such pellets is more effective except at the longer ranges.

The present invention contemplates the manufacture by dropping of shot ofanon-poisonous and materially lighter metal, and particularly from a relatively light metallic alloy, It has been found that shot may be dropped from a meltof metal consisting of or more per cent of zinc, the remainder being substantially all aluminum. It is. diflicult to drop shot consisting of zinc exclusively, the difiiculties being due to the ready oxidation of zinc causing the formation of an excessive amount of. dross in the melting kettle 10 and dropping pans, to the attack of the iron of the melting kettle and dropping pans by the active molten zinc, and to the poor surface tension characteristics of zinc, preventing the formation of spherical pellets or causing the break-up of 15 such pellets as have been formed while falling through the tower. The presence of aluminum in amounts up to about 5% has been found beneficialin contr lling both the formation of dross and the attac on the material of the melt containers. Byv regulating the quantity of aluminum beneficial effects on the dropping char-.- acteristics are likewise secured. While aluminum in any quantity up to 5% is beneficial, the optimumaluminum content has been found, to be 25 about 3%. The minimum practicable quantity is about .5 of 1%, it being difficult to secureuniform distribution of aluminum in a lesser amount.

The present invention is believed to constitute the first discovery of the beneficial effects of 0 aluminum in the manufacture of shot and upon the shot themselves; henceflthe appended claims are to be broadly construed. Q

What, is claimed is: p

1. A spherical dropped shot suitable for use in 35 a shot shell consisting of an alloy of zinc and aluminum.

2. A spherical dropped shot suitable for use in a ,shot shell consisting of an alloy of not less than 95% zinc, the remainder being substantially all aluminum. 4o 3. A spherical dropped shot suitable for use in a shot shell consisting of an alloy of substantially 97% zinc, the balance being substantially all aluminum.

4. A spherical dropped shot suitable for use in. a: shot shell consisting of an alloy containing from 5%, to 5% of aluminum, the remainder being substantially all zinc. v

mcnm GEORGE consort. 

